emc storage vnx - journeytobigdata.com · surveillance emc vnx storage with video management...

SurveillanceEMC VNX Storage with Video ManagementSystems

Configuration GuideH14824

REV 1.1

Copyright © 2016-2017 EMC Corporation All rights reserved.

Published April 2017

Dell believes the information in this publication is accurate as of its publication date. The information is subject to change without notice.

THE INFORMATION IN THIS PUBLICATION IS PROVIDED “AS-IS.“ DELL MAKES NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND

WITH RESPECT TO THE INFORMATION IN THIS PUBLICATION, AND SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIMS IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF

MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. USE, COPYING, AND DISTRIBUTION OF ANY DELL SOFTWARE DESCRIBED

IN THIS PUBLICATION REQUIRES AN APPLICABLE SOFTWARE LICENSE.

Dell, EMC, and other trademarks are trademarks of Dell Inc. or its subsidiaries. Other trademarks may be the property of their respective owners. Published in the USA.

This document is not intended for audiences in China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan.

Dell EMCHopkinton, Massachusetts 01748-91031-508-435-1000 In North America 1-866-464-7381 www.DellEMC.com

2 EMC VNX Storage with Video Management Systems Configuration Guide

Introduction 5Solution overview......................................................................................... 6Assumptions.................................................................................................6

Configuring the solution 7EMC VNX..................................................................................................... 8

Disk drives....................................................................................... 8Storage pool configuration (recommended).................................... 8LUN configuration........................................................................... 9iSCSI initiators.................................................................................9Configure iSCSI front-end ports ................................................... 10Connect the iSCSI target on Windows........................................... 10Format the iSCSI target on Windows..............................................11Fibre Channel configuration............................................................ 11Dell EMC PowerPath......................................................................12FC LUN configuration for a virtualized environment.......................12VNXe RAID configuration............................................................... 12Recommended cache configuration............................................... 12

Conclusion 13Summary.....................................................................................................14

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

CONTENTS

EMC VNX Storage with Video Management Systems Configuration Guide 3

CONTENTS


CHAPTER 1

Introduction

This chapter presents the following topics:

l Solution overview.................................................................................................6l Assumptions.........................................................................................................6

Introduction 5

Solution overviewThis guide is intended for internal Dell EMC personnel and qualified Dell EMC partners.It provides configuration instructions for preparing EMC VNX® storage systems foruse with video management software (VMS).

The purpose of this guide is to help users understand how to configure VNX storagefor video surveillance specific implementations that include both hardware andsoftware elements. This guide is not a replacement for Dell EMC partnerimplementation guides.

AssumptionsThis solution assumes that internal Dell EMC personnel and qualified Dell EMCpartners are using this guide with an established architecture.

This guide assumes that the Dell EMC partners who intend to deploy this solution are:

l Associated with product implementation

l Dell EMC-certified to install EMC VNX services

l Proficient in installing and configuring VNX storage solutions

l Familiar with installing and configuring VMware hypervisors and the appropriateoperating system, such as Microsoft Windows or a Linux distribution

l Able to access the EMC VNX Storage with Video Management Systems:Configuration Guide

The configurations that are documented in this guide are based on tests that weconducted in the Dell EMC Surveillance Lab using worst-case scenarios to establish aperformance baseline. Lab results might differ from individual productionimplementations.

Introduction


CHAPTER 2

Configuring the solution


l EMC VNX.............................................................................................................8

Configuring the solution 7

EMC VNXVNX storage is ideal for recording and managing terabytes of video from distributedlocations. This section describes best practices for configuring a VNX storage systemfor this solution.

The VNX family includes the VNX and VNX-VSS series arrays. The VNX series isdesigned for midtier to enterprise storage environments, is ideal for distributedenvironments, and can scale to handle large petabyte (PB) environments with block-only requirements at central locations.

Disk drivesAlthough any supported drive will work, video surveillance systems typically rely onthe density of the array. Dell EMC recommends NL-SAS drives of the highest availabledensity in this solution. In general, we used one-terabyte (TB) or multi-TB NL-SASdrives when performing our tests.

Note

Because of the high percentage of sequential, large block writes, Dell EMC does notrecommend using flash drives for video storage within a surveillance application.

Storage pool configuration (recommended)The tests we conducted show how storage pools that are defined with the maximumallowable number of disks per pool perform as well as, or better than, traditional RAIDgroups. Therefore, Dell EMC recommends that you use storage pools rather than RAIDgroups. Storage pools also reduce the required array management tasks.

The VNX family array architecture is optimized for storage pools. A storage pool is aconstruct that is built over one, or more commonly multiple, RAID groups. LUNs arebuilt on top of the storage pool. The read/write activity is a random distribution acrossall disks defined to the storage pool. This distribution results in increased and balancedper disk utilization and improved performance when compared to traditional RAIDimplementations.

The RAID groups underlying storage pools can be either RAID 5 or RAID 6. The defaultand recommended RAID configuration for a VNXe or VSS1600 array using NL-SASdrives is RAID 6. Either RAID 5 or RAID 6 can be used with VNX arrays. RAID 5 is usedfor optimizing the array to achieve the maximum amount of storage and RAID 6 isused for enhancing data protection. Our tests using an isolated surveillanceinfrastructure did not reveal any notable performance variances when using RAID 5 ascompared to RAID 6.

Building a storage pool is a straightforward process. You can configure either RAID 5or RAID 6 pools depending on the VNX storage system restrictions and the level ofrisk that the customer is willing to accept. When configuring storage pools, use largestorage pools with large logical unit number (LUN) sizes, and configure the LUNs asthick. Do not use thin LUN provisioning.

Dell EMC recommends the following RAID configurations for VNX arrays:

l RAID 5 or RAID 10 with SAS drives

l RAID 6 with NL-SAS drives



Procedure

1. In Unisphere, select Storage > Storage Pools for block.

2. Click Create under Pools in the Pools section.

3. Set the following options for the storage pool:

l Storage pool name

l RAID type

l Number of SAS drives

l Number of NL SAS drives

4. Choose a method for selecting disks to include in the storage pool:

l Automatic: Provides a list of available disks.

l Manual: Enables you to select specific disks to include in the storage poolfrom a list of available disks. Be sure to clear the automatic diskrecommendation list before you select new disks from the list.

5. Select Perform a Background verify on the new storage and set the priorityto medium.

6. Click Apply, and then click YES to create the storage pool.

LUN configurationA VNX pool LUN is similar to a classic LUN. Pool LUNs comprise a collection of slices.A slice is a unit of capacity that is allocated from the private RAID groups to the poolLUN when it needs additional storage. Pool LUNs can be thin or thick.

Thin LUNs typically have lower performance than thick LUNs because of the indirectaddressing. The mapping overhead for a thick LUN is less than for a thin LUN.

Thick LUNs have more predictable performance than thin LUNs because they assignslice allocation at creation. Because thick LUNs do not provide the flexibility ofoversubscribing like a thin LUN, use thick LUNs for applications where performance ismore important than saving space.

Thick and thin LUNs can share the same pool, enabling them to have the same ease-of-use and benefits of pool-based provisioning.

Procedure

1. In Unisphere, right-click a storage pool and then click Create LUN.

2. Type the user capacity for the LUN.

3. Type the starting LUN ID, and then select the number of LUNs to create.

For example, if the selected LUN ID is 50, and the selected number of LUNs tocreate is 3, the names for the LUNs are 50, 51, and 52.

4. Select Automatically assign LUN IDs as LUN names.

5. Click Apply.

iSCSI initiatorsSoftware or hardware initiators may be used with VMware ESXi server or a non-virtualized server.

Microsoft Internet SCSI (iSCSI) initiators

For both physical servers and VMware ESXi server, the Dell EMC Surveillance Labuses Microsoft iSCSI initiators with excellent results.


LUN configuration 9

Hardware iSCSI initiators

Hardware iSCSI initiators can be used. There are many iSCSI initiators availableon the market, and results might vary.

Configure iSCSI front-end portsConfigure the storage system iSCSI front-end ports when the cabling is completed.

For cable specifications, refer to the technical specifications for your storage system.You can generate an up-to-date version of these specifications using the Learn aboutstorage system link on the storage system support website.

For high availability:

l Connect one or more iSCSI front-end data ports on SP A to ports on the switch orrouter. If two switches or routers are available, connect the same number of iSCSlfront-end data ports on SP B to ports on the same switch or router, or on anotherswitch or router.

l For a multiple NIC or iSCSI host bus adapter (HBA) server, connect one or moreNIC or iSCSI ports to ports on the switch or router. If two switches or routers areavailable, connect the same number of NIC or iSCSI HBA ports to ports on thesame switch or router, or on another switch or router.

Procedure

1. To start Unisphere, in an Internet browser, type the IP address of the storagesystem SP that you want to manage.

2. Type your user name and password.

3. Click Login.

4. From Unisphere, select System > Hardware > Storage Hardware.

5. Identify the storage system iSCSI front-end ports by selecting SPs > SP A/B >IO Modules > Slot [#] > Port [#] in the Hardware window.

For example: SPs > SP A > IO Modules > Slot A4 > Port 0

6. Click OK.

7. Highlight the iSCSI front-end port that you want to configure and clickProperties.

8. To assign an IP address to the port, click Add in Virtual Port Properties.

9. Click OK and close all open dialog boxes

10. Click OK.

11. Click OK.

The iSCSI Port Properties window displays the added virtual ports in the VirtualPort Properties area.

Connect the iSCSI target on WindowsWhen the iSCSI target is connected to the Windows iSCSI initiator, the volume isshown on the computer as a local physical hard drive, which can be used for videostorage.

Procedure

1. Connect the iSCSI target with the Windows iSCSI initiator.



a. Launch the iSCSI initiator at Control Panel > Tools.

b. On the iSCSI Initiator Properties page, click Discovery.

c. Enter the IP address of the NAS and then click OK.

d. Click Targets and then select the available iSCSI targets that you want toconnect.

e. Click Connect.

f. Click OK.

On successful connection, the status changes to Connected.

Format the iSCSI target on WindowsAfter the iSCSI target has been successfully connected on Windows, Windowsdisplays the iSCSI target as an Unallocated Disk. You must set the disk to online andformat the disk before you can start using it as a local disk to store video.

Procedure

1. Right-click Computer and then click Manage.

2. Click Disk Management to display current disk information.

3. Right-click iSCSI Disk and then click Online to activate the disk.

4. Right-click iSCSI Disk again to open the New Simple Volume Wizard window.

5. Follow the wizard to complete formatting the disk.

When the wizard completes, the disk appears as a local hard disk drive, whichcan then be used as extra storage space.

Fibre Channel configurationTo transfer traffic from the host servers to shared storage, the serial-attachednetwork (SAN) uses the Fibre Channel (FC) protocol that packages SCSI commandsinto FC frames.

Note

iSCSI is prevalent for video security implementations because it often provides alower-cost option when compared to FC.

To restrict server access to storage arrays that are not allocated to the server, theSAN uses zoning. Typically, zones are created for each group of servers that access ashared group of storage devices and LUNs. A zone defines which HBAs can connectto specific service providers (SPs). Devices outside a zone are not visible to thedevices inside the zone.

Zoning is similar to LUN masking, which is commonly used for permissionmanagement. LUN masking is a process that makes a LUN available to some hosts andunavailable to other hosts.

Zoning provides access control in the SAN topology. Zoning defines which HBAs canconnect to specific targets. When you use zoning to configure a SAN, the devicesoutside a zone are not visible to the devices inside the zone.

Zoning has the following effects:

l Reduces the number of targets and LUNs presented to a host

l Controls and isolates paths in a fabric


Format the iSCSI target on Windows 11

l Prevents non-ESXi systems from accessing a particular storage system and frompossible virtual machine file system (VMFS) data loss

l Optionally, separates different environments, such as test and productionenvironments

With VMware ESXi hosts, use single-initiator zoning or single-initiator-single-targetzoning. The latter is the preferred zoning practice because it is more restrictive andprevents problems and misconfigurations that can occur on the SAN.

Dell EMC PowerPathDell EMC PowerPath® is recommended for block storage (FC and iSCSI)implementations. PowerPath Multipathing automates data path management, failoverand recovery, and optimizes load balancing to ensure application availability andperformance.

FC LUN configuration for a virtualized environmentFibre Channel LUNs can be configured using two methods for virtualizedenvironments.

Raw device mappings (RDM)

RDM can be used for virtual machine archivers to store Video data. The RDMallows a virtual machine to access and use the storage device directly. The RDMcontains metadata for managing and redirecting disk access to the physicaldevice. The file gives you some of the advantages of direct access to a physicaldevice while keeping some advantages of a virtual disk in VMFS. As a result, itmerges VMFS manageability with raw device access.

FC datastores

ESXi uses datastores, which are logical containers that hide specifics of physicalstorage from virtual machines and provide a uniform model for storing virtualmachine files. Datastores that you deploy on block storage devices use thevSphere VMFS format, a special high-performance file system format that isoptimized for storing virtual machines.

VNXe RAID configurationVNXe offers RAID 5, RAID 6, and RAID 10 configurations. Different configurationsoffer different types of protection against disk failures.

Dell EMC recommends the following RAID configurations:

l RAID 5 or RAID 10 with SAS drives

l RAID 6 with NL-SAS drives

Recommended cache configurationEMC VNX generation 2 systems, such as VNX5200 or VNX5400, manage the cache. Ifthe array is shared with other applications, you can use a lower write cache value, butavoid excessive forced flushes.

Dell EMC recommends that you configure the cache as 90 percent write and 10percent read if the storage array does not automatically adapt to the writecharacteristics of video surveillance (for example, EMC VNX5500 or EMC VNX-VSS100).



CHAPTER 3

Conclusion


l Summary............................................................................................................ 14

Conclusion 13

SummaryThe Dell EMC Surveillance Lab performed comprehensive testing with multiple VMSvendors against many EMC VNX arrays.

EMC VNXCompared to traditional block-level storage, the use of storage pools to create LUNswithin the VNX arrays greatly simplifies the configuration and increases theperformance. Either iSCSI or FC can be implemented. FC performs better than iSCSI.

EMC VSSThe VNX Video Surveillance Storage (VSS) is a storage solution that is purpose-builtto meet the unique demands of the video surveillance environment. We found that thishigh-availability, low-cost array performs comparably to other arrays in the VNXfamily.

EMC VNXeAn iSCSI-connected VNXe array, implemented with storage pools, provides a cost-effective implementation while maintaining the expected performance. Many mid-sized deployments can use VNXe.

Conclusion


emc storage vnx - journeytobigdata.com · surveillance emc vnx storage with video management...

Documents